Sean (Diddy) Combs in court for sentencing

Sean (Diddy) Combs faces sentencing on Friday in the sordid criminal case that could keep him locked up for years.

The hip-hop mogul was convicted in July of flying people around the country for sexual encounters, including his girlfriends and male sex workers. A jury acquitted Combs, 55, of more serious racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges that could have put him away for life.

On the eve of his sentencing, Combs wrote U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian asking for mercy and proclaiming himself to be "reborn" after realizing he was "broken to my core."

Combs will be sentenced under the Mann Act, which makes it illegal to transport someone across state lines for the purpose of prostitution or other illegal sex acts. Prosecutors urged the judge to reject leniency, saying witnesses fear for their safety if he is freed.

Prosecutors say he should spend more than 11 years in prison for his conviction on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.

Combs's lawyers want him freed now, saying the long sentence sought by prosecutors is "wildly out of proportion" to the crime.